Anita Lee and her husband, Mayor Ed Lee at the San Francisco Symphony's tribute to Gordon Getty. Jan 2014. By Catherine Bigelow

Anita Lee and her husband, Mayor Ed Lee at the San Francisco Symphony's tribute to Gordon Getty. Jan 2014. By Catherine Bigelow

Photo: Catherine Bigelow, Special To The Chronicle

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Gordon Getty's 80th, 'A Prayer for My Daughter' premiere

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The day before his 80th birthday party last month, we sat down with composer Gordon Getty, who expressed some hesitation about the San Francisco Symphony's recent world premiere of his new work, "A Prayer for My Daughter."

"Usually a big premiere you'd rather have at some smaller venue in another town," he joked. "So to have this one in center court, it's nervous making."

But no nerves were necessary for Getty at the Symphony's birthday tribute concert starring mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, soprano Lisa Delanand tenor Plácido Domingo earlier this month. Because while the music program read like a blockbuster, the stellar celebration felt more like a family musicale for a beloved, down-home friend.

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Organized by his daughter-in-law and son, Vanessa and Billy Getty, this fete featured a sold-out, preconcert supper soiree for 370 supporters who raised funds for the Symphony's free music education programs.

Inside Davies Hall (artfully reimagined by designer Stanlee Gatti), a riot of red-hot ribbons suspended from the ceiling greeted guests who supped at long tables set with roses and a masterful McCall Associates meal.

Inside Davies Hall, a full house delighted in the program that included works by Tallis, Strauss, Verdi, Beethoven and Getty, including the world premiere of "A Prayer for My Daughter."

As the spotlight beamed down on the composer's curly, salt-and-pepper mop, he rose from his seat, raising his hands like a prizefighter in salute, the crowd roaring in approval.

And his 80th tour is going global, too: In April, he travels to Munich to record with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for his label, PentaTone. In June, the Welsh National Opera premieres his one-act opera, "Usher House," on a double bill with Debussy's work on the same theme, in Cardiff. And Getty continues to strive to get some of his economic theories on the map.

"I've been dumb lucky. Lucky that music is my vocation. Lucky that people, on the whole, have treated me well. Lucky in family and health," mused Getty, last month.

"I've never been less retired," he continued, with his signature basso laugh. "Though I still feel like a teenager."